


and i walk out on the wire once again

by littlehands



Series: If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts [2]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28705122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlehands/pseuds/littlehands
Summary: He smells like money.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell
Series: If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051001
Kudos: 16





	and i walk out on the wire once again

_I hope that everybody can find a little flame  
Me, I say my prayers,  
Then I just light myself on fire  
And I walk out on the wire once again_

He smells like money. 

Like fancy cologne that she’s only smelled on white collar criminals - not really her beat. 

He’s too smart, talks way too much and in general just doesn’t sit right with her. 

But then his hand shakes, like a man after he’s seen his wife’s body, like a woman identifying her child in the morgue. And it keeps happening, he can’t hide it, and she can’t stop looking. 

A soft touch. 

That’s what the instructor called it at the academy. 

She spent the rest of the time trying to beat it out of herself - boxing, marksmanship, taking the worst jobs, the worst shifts. Playing up her stoic side, learning to be quiet, to blend in. 

Over time she built a good shell, a good act. Folks started leaving her alone, just letting her do her job. She’s a good cop, focused and rational. 

He’s not. 

Scattered, like his brain is in pieces, nothing is really holding them together. You never know what he’ll spit out, could solve the case - could break your heart. 

She can’t help it, he crawls inside her mind. 

She had a good thing going, the scales were balanced. He’s a ton of bricks, pulling her with him, into the nightmare. 

It’s mostly a nightmare - snakes, bombs, cutting off limbs - standard nightmare stuff. 

But sometimes it is something else. 

Feeling his heart leaping out of his skin after a panic with all her coworkers guns trained on them, his stupid face when he is talking about cheese, how he tries - tries to be good in the face of all his past. 

Most people would give into the nightmares, even more so when they keep bleeding into real life but in tiny moments, in baby steps, he keeps moving. Maybe not forward, mostly backwards to be honest but moving. 

So she moves with him, not always willingly or without fear, but she moves with him. He’s scared and so is she, but keeps moving - so the nightmares don’t catch up, so the shakes aren’t so strong. 

He’s not what she thought he was, all suits and bluster - he’s more than that. He’s moving and she’s following in his wake.

**Author's Note:**

> Worst summary ever! 
> 
> It's rough but it's out there. At least a few more of the character studies to go. Set mid-Season 1. 
> 
> Thanks for coming along for the ride! 
> 
> Title and lyrics from “Goodnight Elizabeth” by Counting Crows


End file.
